Johnny Depp's 'Rango' Debuts Atop Box Office

The animation meets Paramount's expectation with an estimated $38 million on its first weekend.

"Rango" has soared to the first place at North American Box Office, making the second time in a row where an animated film tops the chart. Last weekend which was coincident with Oscar gala, "Gnomeo and Juliet" came out as the winner after released three weeks before.

"Rango", which boasts Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and Bill Nighy as the voice cast, rakes in an estimated $38 million which meets Paramount's expectation. "We wanted to get out in front of other animated movies - 'Mars Needs Moms!', 'Hop', 'Rio'- and it worked," says the studio's vice chair Rob Moore. " 'Rango' is ambitious creatively, and that's the thing we expect to keep the movie going, and playing through March."

The movie is well-reviewed and although it has plenty of adult humor, it manages to lure families to watch. Of its overall audience, 46% was under the age of 25. "Rango didn't blow the roof off, but it did well, considering the quirky nature of the movie," Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo, comments.

"The Adjustment Bureau" takes second place at the chart with an estimated $21 million, which is about $5 million above expectations. Mixing sci-fi and romance as the theme, the movie pairing up Matt Damon and Emily Blunt plays to a distinctly older audience, with 73% of the audience over the age of 30.

Also beating projections is "Beastly" which lands on number three with an approximately $10.1 million, about $3 million more than expected. The teen drama starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer draws more than 73% girls from its total audience with 36% between the ages of 12 and 17.

On number four is "Hall Pass" which adds an estimated $9 million on its second weekend. "Gnomeo and Juliet" falls to number five with an approximately $6.9 million, making its current domestic gross to $83.6 in total.

Another major new release "Take Me Home Tonight", meanwhile, is a step away from landing on the top ten. The comedy led by Topher Grace occupies the eleventh slot with an estimated $3.5 million.